Youth Visions Reflection Park to debut in July 11 ceremony

A mural inspired by Toledo’s young people lay on its back July 9, ready for installation as part of the newest feature at Woodrow Wilson Park.

A path — created by Toledo’s youth — is covered in mulch and winds its way past the mural and a few benches, also inspired by the city’s young people.

Called Youth Visions Reflection Park, the six murals, benches and walkway is a “youth-centered, youth-planned, youth-built and youth-maintained” feature inside the Woodrow Wilson Park in North Toledo.

Destin Williams, left, and Deontae Johnson help install a mural at Youth Visions Park at Woodrow Wilson Park in North Toledo on July 9. Toledo Free Press photo by Kim Sanchez

“We want the community to walk through the ‘visions of its youth,’” said the project’s creator and architect, Lorna Gonsalves, a former University of Toledo professor. “As city leaders try to address issues such as racism, gang violence, blight and crime, we need to harness and channel the creative potential of one of our greatest resources — our remarkable youth. Their concerns, insights and visions can help lead the way to building strong, safe, inclusive and beautiful neighborhoods.”

On July 9, the erection of the six murals capped a project that germinated 10 years ago and has spanned dozens of conversations between Gonsalves and the city’s youth, many of them participants of the WSOS’s YouthBuild program.

At 1 p.m. July 11, an opening ceremony of the youth-inspired park will take place in Woodrow Wilson Park.

The youth who lent their sweat to the project are 18 to 24 years old. Many have witnessed some kind of injustice in their life, either from crime, gangs or violence. They want a place of peace, safety, beauty and respect, said Gonsalves — the same things adults want.

“It’s a cool project,” said Destin Williams, 18, who was one of three youths who came out July 9 to help install the murals.

“We’ve got young people doing very meaningful things, doing grassroots things,” Gonsalves said. “The youth get left out of the conversation. We have to have youth at the center of the conversation because they will lead the way.”

“If we used these kids, there would be no more blight in the city,” said John Page, a YouthBuild specialist.

One of the murals titled “Rising Above Bigotry” was inspired by the 2005 Toledo Riots. A Neo-Nazi organization gathered in North Toledo that year to protest African-American gangs and several local youths were arrested after a counter-protest. Gonsalves worked with the young people who were arrested.

“The youth were angry and frustrated and they had few opportunities to share their feelings or help to prompt change,” Gonsalves said via email. “Over a series of discussions, I introduced them to the concept of creative peaceful resistance (CPR).”

The CPR concept helps people deal with their emotions when they witness an injustice. Using CPR, the youth of the Youth Visions Park channeled their feelings and creativity into the murals, the bench, the walkway so the entire park encapsulates a youth-centered vibe.

“They [the youth] are my muses. They’re leaders but not recognized as such,” Gonsalves said. “They’re one of our most precious natural resources.”

The “Rising Above Bigotry” mural is in three panels and is painted by artist Yusuf Lateef. Other murals include “Calling for Teen Sensitive Policing,” “From Chaos Comes Clarity,” “Youth Wisdom,” “Rescue Youth” and “Children Need Families.” The murals were not painted by youth but the artists were inspired by them, Gonsalves said.

The city’s Parks, Recreation and Forestry Commissioner Denny Garvin said the new space gives young people, including those from nearby Woodward High School, a safe place to express themselves.

“They’re in their own neighborhood, in a cool, shady spot surrounded by works that are important to these young people. It creates an area of inspiration and safety,” Garvin said. “And it also gives a sense of ownership to young people who might not have that much – who can latch on and say ‘It’s mine.’”

“We’re very proud of it,” Garvin added. “I knew [Gonsalves] was looking for place to do this and I suggested Woodward Park. … I think it’s wonderful. I really do.”

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Forum aims to open dialog to improve police, youth relationship

Three area police chiefs, Toledo youth and University of Toledo students came together to discuss ways to improve the relationship between badge-holders and young people April 3.

The “Enhancing Relations Between Toledo Youth and Law Enforcement” forum was organized by Lorna Gonsalves, a professor for an “Understanding Racism” class for criminal justice students at UT. Gonsalves wanted her students to get involved in a community action project, and throughout her work around the world, she said she noticed tenuous relations between police and youth.

“You are our most precious resource and really it’s in your hands where our future lies,” Gonsalves told the youth in the crowd of about 100.

“Many times when we deal with things on the street, we deal with things in a certain structure and a certain way,” Diggs said of police, adding that it can be difficult for youth and police to understand one another.

“One of the things I hear from youth all the time is they don’t trust police,” he said.

Newton recommended education and communication as ways to cure the “bad blood” between the groups, a sentiment Navarre echoed.

“The solution is communication and education and we can educate each other by communicating with each other,” he said.

Honesty in dealing with police is also key, Navarre said. “Police officers are lied to every single day of the week … their most difficult task is trying to discern who is telling the truth,” he said.

Shakyra Diaz, the policy director from the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, also addressed the crowd. Diaz brought cards informing people how to behave if stopped by police and a large part of the forum was suggesting ways to potentially distribute the cards to area youth.

Diaz reminded adults of their roles in children’s lives. “We lose sight of how important we are and our roles as adults,” she said, adding that while it takes a village to raise a child, “it takes a community to fail a child” as well.

Mutual understanding is also crucial.

“It’s important for young people to understand the work of a police officer can be difficult and dangerous,” Diaz said, adding, “It’s also important for police officers to understand that going through the teen years is very difficult.”

She praised the chiefs’ involvement with the forum and said, “Their presence is saying a lot, but continued dialogue is important.”

After the speeches, the crowd broke into groups to come up with suggestions on distributing the cards and improving relations.

“Every time a police officer stops someone, there’s panic,” said Wayne Pirtle, a Woodward High School senior and vice president of the school’s Student African American Brotherhood chapter. Most of the teens in the small group of about 15 had been stopped by police before.

Pirtle suggested police meeting with students in plain clothes to ease tensions, talk and distribute the cards. He also advocated cooperating when stopped by police.

Brother Washington Muhammad, group moderator and program coordinator for Self-Expression Teen Theater, urged police to take some of the blame for the tension between youth and authority.

“Accepting responsibility doesn’t make you a bad guy; accepting responsibility makes you a leader,” he said.

The groups then reconvened to share the suggestions, which will be forwarded to the police chiefs and school officials.

In addition to mutual respect, many of the suggestions centered on meeting police in casual settings designed to help kids see the “human” aspects of the officers. To help personalize the present chiefs, Gonsalves organized a brief guessing game of some of the chiefs’ favorite things. (Navarre enjoys T-bone steak and Newton’s favorite actress is Winona Ryder, which elicited several “who?”s from the youth.)

Gonsalves said she thinks a summertime picnic between youth and plainly clothed officers is in order. A forum discussing specific anecdotes of youth/police relations is also being planned.

“I could see many of the young people were burning to talk,” she said.